Journey through Astora
by Franck120
Summary: An undead traveler decides to explore the ruined land of Astora, in search of various treasures. Slowly, he will realize that he has made a great mistake.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In unknown territory

"Hum, well it seems to be the place."

I stood before an old sign made of wood, in the middle of a path that would lead me directly into a great forest. It was early in the morning, and the only thing I could hear was the sound of crows flying above me. The fetid smell of decomposition and death was slowly fading away, a sign that I was leaving this repugnant undead settlement. On the sign, I could barely read what was written. It seems that like everything around this old, forsaken place, time took its toll. On it, it simply said :

"Turn back, this path is strictly forbidden, by the orders of..-"

I couldn't make out the rest of the sentence. Anyway, I was sure that no one would really even care at that moment if I went beyond that sign. The kingdom of Lothric, and even the entire world, is falling apart. I looked at my old, worn-out map. No doubt, I was at the right place. I walked behind the sign and made it into the forest. As I looked around me, the colors drastically changed. Everything went from a depressive, gray theme, to a lush green. The smell of pines and other trees was rather pleasant, a moment of respite from all the death and decay that I knew too well. It filled me with confidence as I went onward. I was on my way to a forsaken, ruined land. It was called Astora, a place known for its advanced society and culture. It was once a place of nobility. But, that was all in the past. In time, the land fell to ruin. As an explorer, it was my duty to travel there. My main goal was to explore this place, searching for its treasures and knowledge. But, absolutely nothing would prepare me for what I was going to face in my journey. The path lead me through the entire forest, until a mountain was blocking my way. Luckily, my map spoke of a passage inside it that would bring me beyond it. With the materials I had, I was able to make a torch. I was now prepared to enter the great peak. Without losing any time, I hastily went inside.

After quite some time, I arrived at the other side, and I was welcomed by a deep fog, it was impossible to see in front of me. There was no sign of plants, only rocks and dirt. As I walked forward, my carelessness almost got the better of me ; I realized that until a certain point, my left foot didn't touch the ground. I took a step back as I gasped, almost tripping on the ground. I was faced by a cliff, it was evident that I would have died there. After looking around me, searching for another path, I roughly saw to my left a safe way to go down. Cautiously, I walked there and placed a hand on the wall of rock next to me, in fear that I would almost fall again. Time passed, and slowly, the fog was dissipating. Finally, I was at the bottom of the mountain, as I gazed in front of me, the light of the sun started to pierce through the clouds, and a cold breeze made the fog completely disappear. Before me, there was a grim, yet spectacular sight. At last, I could see in the distance what remained of the land of Astora. The legends were not lying, for the devastation was absolute. From where I was, I could see entire houses, churches and castles in ruin. I was not surprised, no matter how tall kindgoms are, they always suffer the same fate. All of this, because of the undead curse that plagued mankind for ages.

I decided to follow a path made of cobblestones that would lead me to what seemed to be the capital of Astora, my unlit torch in my hand. Well, what remained of it, at least. As I set foot in the old town, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I have been in many places around this wretched world, and I have seen a lot of dark, unspeakable things. But in this land, something was definitely off. As I walked among various remains of houses, I realized that there was a lack of scent in the air. I couldn't smell anything. And oddly enough, it was extremely silent. The only thing I could hear was the sound I made as I walked on the ground full of rubble and rocks. Then suddenly, I heard a howling sound near my position. Then, it was followed by many more. That abrupt breaking of the silence startled me and I looked swiftly around, searching for the source. In a hurry, I raised my straight sword in front of me, trembling in fear. I looked behind me and was greeted by a monstrous presence. It was what seemed to be a deformed dog. Its eye sockets were empty, and its skin was completely black. From its mouth, there was a strange, dark foggy matter pouring out of it. Other similar dogs then appeared behind him, I was now outnumbered. The only option I had was to leave immediately.

"By the gods, this was a bad idea, what have I done?!"

Fear got the best of me and I decided to run away, not looking behind me. Even so, I could hear them. These foul atrocities were trying to catch me, and they wouldn't stop until they took a good taste of my flesh. It is then that I realized that I was completely lost, running aimlessly into the ruined town. Slowly, the last rays of sunlight were gone, leaving only darkness. It was completely pitch-black, and without any way to see, I accidentally tripped over a rock that was in my way. As I fell on the floor, I started to panic and I looked around me again, desperately trying to see anything. But, it came to me that the sound of the dogs was gone. They finally decided to leave me be, it seems. Or, perhaps they got another unlucky traveler. Either way, I needed to find a place to sleep. I had lost my torch in the commotion and needed to make another one. Now with a source of light, I could see in front of me. After minutes of walking, I could see the remains of a church. Surprisingly, it still had a roof. As I went inside, my eyes widened as I saw something rather familiar: a bonfire. It consisted of a burned, coiled sword planted in the ground. At its very bottom lied some dusts and pieces of bones. Every undead are linked to theses bonfires. As they die, they come back to life at it, unscathed. But, it had no flames at all. I suppose it was unlit for quite some time. I approached my right hand toward the coiled sword, and suddenly, the bonfire was lit with a comforting flame. I sat next to it, letting out a sigh. I opened my backpack, it contained various supplies for traveling and my trusty estus flask, a powerful potion that heals every wound. I took a sip from it, and I could feel all my pain fading away. I had no shield with me, and I knew it was a fatal mistake. I then leaned in front of a block of stone, trying to sleep. I thought to myself that the next day I would be more vigilant. There is no way that I was going to leave. This town was testing my resolve, and it did not falter. But, I couldn't shake away this feeling I had. I was right, something was wrong in this land. Even so, it would not stop me.

 **So this is my very first chapter. More will come during the next week. Thank you very much for reading it and I would be very grateful if you could also review it, so I may learn from my mistakes.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Beyond the mist

I woke up suddenly the next morning, sweating. I had nightmares during the entire night like never before. A harrowing question came to my mind : what other hideous creatures that accursed city would offer me? Is there something much worse that lies ahead? I dismissed that thought, for it would only make things worse by thinking about it. Whatever was outside this church, I would face it. I prepared my bag and everything else and walked away from the bonfire, feeling its warmth slowly fading. I let out a sigh as I walked outside.

Once again, there was a dense mist covering the entirety of the area. But at least, I could see a little bit farther than before. The sky was cloudy and it was extremely humid, I started thinking of the eventuality that it would start to rain. Again, it was extremely silent, but I learned my lesson from my last encounter and I raised my sword in a defensive stance, ready for anything that would come at me. I walked a lot, and I eventually lost track of the time. I started to loose hope, around me, there was nothing but ruins and desolation. My heart almost stopped as I heard many footsteps coming from my left. I had no knowledge of my enemy and decided to hide behind the remains of what looked like a well in the middle of the road.

Behind the well, I tried to take a peek at what was coming. From the fog came out at least five soldiers, with the same weapons and a similar look. In their hands, they all had a straight sword, with gold ornaments at its hilt. They were all wearing a heavy armor, with a dark shade of silver with golden lines and a blue cape. It was evident that they were once warriors of high ranks. They had no helmets, so I could see how their faces looked like. I then realized that these soldiers were hollows. They are undead creatures that are no longer human, who have lost all purpose and hope. But even so, it seems that they are still walking the empty streets. I suppose that they are, in a way, keeping their old habits. They had empty eye sockets, just like the dogs from last day, and their skin was completely black. Strangely enough, they too had this strange dark substance coming out of their mouths. Were they affected by a curse? I had never seen such a thing in the past, and I needed to be on my guards. I knew that I had no chances against them, so I tried to sneak past them.

I underestimated their senses. Just as I stood up and tried to walk away, they swiftly looked at me and let out a horrible, inhuman groan. I knew I could not escape, so I looked around me for a way to defend myself. I found on the ground a shield in a really bad state, but that would do. The first one ran toward me with his sword. I was able to block and dodge his attacks. Hollows are particularly easy to fight since they simply swing their weapon around, with an absolute lack of skill. While this one was no different, his blows were unusually strong, so I needed to fight back as soon as I could. The hollow soldier continued to swing his blade until I was finally able to parry his last hit with my shield. The undead was staggered and I took my chance. With all my strength, I plunged my sword inside the chest of the hollow, piercing his armor and body. I then pulled him away with my right foot and it fell to the ground, lifeless. Doing this gave me more confidence, I realized that I could do it. But, as I looked at the lifeless corpse on the ground, something peculiar happened : its chest exploded and the dark matter erupted from it. Then, it faded away. I was completely dumbfounded by this, but I did not have the time to think about it. Knowing that they couldn't defeat me alone, the four others ran toward me, charging with their weapons. My shield could not endure these hollows at once, so fighting was out of the question. I decided to run as fast as I could, without looking behind me.

After some time, I saw in front of me a bridge made of cobblestones that lead further into the fog. As soon as I was on it, I looked behind me and saw the hollows. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at them: they didn't want to go further. Slowly, they walked away, disappearing in the mist. Without thinking much about it, I decided to continue walking. As I went to the other side of the bridge, I could finally see what was hidden behind the fog; An immense castle, with spires reaching the sky. The architecture was very similar to a cathedral, and I could see various statues near the entrance that seemed to represent divine beings. Perhaps the worshiping of the gods was important here. I looked around me in awe as I approached the castle. I climbed some stairs that would lead me to a great doorway. One of the doors was completely destroyed and the other one was also in a bad state. I stepped around the debris and I entered a great hall. Inside, the only source of light came from massive windows above me. The floor was heavily damaged and seemed to be made of gray ceramic. Ahead of me, it was really dark and a torch was primordial if I wanted to explore this castle. I lit the second torch I had with me and I advanced inside.

The further I went inside the castle, the more I started to feel uneasy. The walls were empty, with no paintings. I found goods and pieces of furniture in ruins, broken windows, and rubbles. Then suddenly, as I continued to walk on the ceramic, I felt something odd under my feet. I looked down and my eyes widened: the same strange dark matter covered the entirety of the floor. I looked swiftly around me and realized that even the walls were covered in this black substance. I touched it with disgust, its texture was almost slimy. I waved my hand around trying to take it off. It was extremely unsettling, but even so, a part of me wanted to continue. So I went on, with my torch raised above me. To this day, I still curse this damn choice.

I reached the end of the hallway and entered a great hall. It was difficult to see, because of the dark matter on every surface. I saw a set of two spiraling stairs that would maybe lead me higher inside the castle. But as I looked down, something blocked my path: there was an enormous gaping hole in the middle of the hall. How deep was it? I had to try something. I took a small piece of wood and set it ablaze with my torch. I then threw it in the pit. It fell into the darkness, without making a sound. I was having shivers, could that be the Abyss? This endless pit of darkness that corrupted and devoured anything in its path? Perhaps it was one of the main causes of Astora's downfall, and it could even explain the appearance of the hollows I saw earlier. Faced with such a threat, I did not fall back, I decided to try and find a way around the hole. But then, as soon as I tried to walk around, the earth itself started to tremble. I heard a terrifying growl that made me cover my ears. Whatever I may have awakened was not pleased. Then, out of the Abyss, an enormous, malformed dark hand appeared. I was frozen in fear by such a sight. My fate was sealed. The hand did not attack me directly. Instead, it smashed the ceiling above me, and parts of it fell right where I was. My senses returned and I tried to run away, but it was too late and I was completely crushed by the rubble.

I was killed.

 **So this was the second chapter. Feel free to leave a review, it may help me a lot for my next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The corrupted temple

I screamed as I suddenly woke up again right next to the bonfire in the ruined church, trembling from head to toe. My eyes were completely shut and I was afraid to open them.

"Didn't I just...die?"

Slowly, I opened my eyes and gazed blankly at the bonfire. Yes, I did die. But here I was, standing in front of the comfortable fire of the coiled sword. This is the true nature of the curse of the undead. We are not allowed to die, we simply wake up near the bonfire, without a single wound. Every single undead is linked to a bonfire, even I couldn't escape that. While at first, it may seem like a good thing, it doesn't come without a price. I looked at my hands, still trembling. I realized that the color of my skin changed. It became browner as if it was withered. Even the texture was not pleasant at all. At least, I still had my weapon, my armor and my bag with everything still inside. I stood up and walked outside of the church. The fog was completely gone for now and the sun was still in the sky. At this point, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Returning to the ancient castle? Or simply leave this land at once? On one hand, there was still a lot of things that I needed to discover in Astora. But on the other, there was something ancient and evil that plagued this land. I hesitated as I looked at the mountain from where I came in the distance. Then I thought to myself ; what if the Abyss in this place started to spread? It would corrupt the lands around it, devouring anything in its path. I was clearly the only one aware of this threat and it was my responsibility to try and deal with it.

And so I decided to stay in Astora, but this time, I wouldn't go to the castle yet. Approaching that pit again would be a suicide and I needed something to protect myself. A way to fight off the powers of the Abyss. While this land was mainly known for its advanced society and nobility, it was also known for its popular art of divine smiting. It is the creation of weapons infused with holy powers. Something quite useful against the dark forces. So I went onward in my exploration, in order to not only seek a weapon but to also learn more about what happened to this old land. I could now more easily find my way around the ruined town since the fog vanished. But I had to make haste before it returned. From time to time, I saw groups of hollows patrolling the streets, followed by dogs. I luckily managed to slip away from them without being seen.

Eventually, I reached a point in the ruined town where some buildings were still standing. At the end of the road, I saw what looked like a religious temple. Everything was made of stone, and I could see remains of statues all around the place. It didn't look like a church and it was smaller, without any spire at its top. As I set foot inside, I had shivers down my spine. Something was in there and I prepared myself for an eventual fight. I walked slowly, looking intently around me. It was dark, so I decided to light a torch. Inside it was completely empty, and the walls were dilapidated. At the very end, there was a tunnel with a set of stairs that would lead me right under the temple. Without waiting, I immediately went down.

I looked around me with my torch as I walked down the stairs. I realized that the dark substance was pouring from the cracks in the walls. As I continued to walk down, it was even under my feet. I reached the end of the tunnel and was horrified by what I saw. This place was no ordinary temple, it was an old crypt, filled withered corpses on the ground. The worst part was the fact that the dark liquid covered the entirety of the place and it was impossible to even see the stone bricks. Even the bodies were covered in the liquid. I was standing at the entrance of a hall, and in the walls, there were a couple of coffins. Each time I walked, I could hear the sound of my feet on the pieces of bones on the floor. I waved my torch around, trying to see anything in this dark place. In the distance, I faintly saw a small light piercing the darkness. I ran toward it and saw what it truly was. In front of me, there was a corpse of what looked like a paladin. It held in its hand a beautiful great sword and a standard shield made with the similar material, made of silver and shining gold. At the sword's hilt, there was a shining crystal that produced a rather comforting light. I realized that the corpse was not even touched by the dark substance, while everything else in this place was drenched in it. It must be because of the sword. Perhaps that was what I was looking for, a weapon to fight the Abyss. As soon as I took it, I was on my way to leave the crypt.

As soon as I reached the middle of the hall, I started to hear horrifying groans. The dead was starting to wake up. All around me hollowed undead creatures were rising from the dark matter. I was completely surrounded from every angle and was ultimately forced to fight back these atrocities. I was completely scared, sweating and trembling. I raised the great sword toward them, shaking. But something came to my mind. The creatures wouldn't approach me as if they were scared. Was it because of the sword? I decided to take my chance as one of them rushed toward me. As the undead came at me, I completely slashed it with my sword, cutting its body in half. The corpse fell on the floor and started to burn. That was the true power of divine weapons.

The horde of hollows shrieked as they decided to try and attack. I waved my sword around, cutting through the corrupted flesh and slicing their bodies apart. It was surprisingly easy, but eventually, I started to feel exhausted. I couldn't take them all on my own and needed to leave as soon as I could. After killing five of them, I finally saw a way out. I ran toward the exit, not looking back. As I reached the top of the staircase, I swiftly searched something in my bag. I took out a small bomb that contained oil. With my torch, I lighted up the bomb and threw it in the tunnel. I then ran away and in less than three seconds, I heard the sound of an explosion. It should have been enough to get rid of the remaining ones that tried to follow me.

I was unscathed, but still incredibly exhausted and needed to return at the bonfire. The sun was almost down and I hurried back to the church. I was able to find my way back there without fighting anyone else. I desperately needed to sleep, knowing that the next day, I was going to try and go to the castle again. With a divine weapon with me and a shield, perhaps I finally had a chance against the beast of the Abyss.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A light in the darkness

After a long night, I was finally ready to face what was inside the great castle. And possibly what caused the devastation of the land of Astora. I prepared my bag and some fire bombs. The great sword didn't even need any polishing, it truly was a weapon of quality. After having everything set, I rushed outside of the church and I ran toward the ancient castle. It seemed that luck was on my side, for there was again absolutely no fog. I saw some undead soldiers on my way, but I didn't care about them. My goal was the great dark beast, nothing else.

I ran to the other side of the great bridge and was faced again by the two doors of the old citadel. From the look of it, nothing changed from my last visit, that is until I went inside. The path I used last time that would lead me directly to the great hall with the gaping hole was destroyed. Rubbles and pieces of ceramic covered the floor around the small entrance, it was completely blocked. However, I saw another way: at its left and right, there were two other paths, the right one was also destroyed, so my only option was to take the other one. As I walked into the dark corridor, I realized that my weapon's light was so great that I didn't even need a torch. Without further ado, I continued to walk inside.

Just like the other time, the corridor was empty and dilapidated. I explored every chamber down the path, but I could not find anything. I walked in one of the remaining chambers at the end, to my surprise, there was actually something in it. The chamber was far wider than the others. There was a set of broken chairs all over the place and there was a great pedestal at the end. As I looked at the walls, I was amazed by my discovery: I found ancient scriptures with old paintings and drawings, all in a rather good condition. Perhaps I was in a place of prayers, or even learning. Regardless of that, I hurried to take a look at them. The old texts were almost barely visible, but I was able to make sense of it.

It spoke of a creature called the Evil Eye. Eons ago, this dark beast ravaged the land of Astora. It almost completely destroyed it, but it said that it was vanquished by the sword of a noble person. The origins of this Evil Eye was a mystery, but the texts spoke of something dark and vile, a place where nothing could live. Perhaps it came from the Abyss? I continued to read, it then said that after the creature's defeat, the land would rise again in power, knowing prosperity for some time. But it all went down after the coronation of a new king.

What I saw next was truly foreboding. It is said that the king went mad. He gathered hundreds of people in the middle of a great hall in his own castle, surely the one with the great pit. And without a single warning, he used a powerful spell that "devoured" the life essence of the people. A dark substance then formed under his feet, forming a black pit that ultimately swallowed him and the corpses of his subjects. I was horrified, what kind of power was that?! The remaining people who survived closed the doors of the castle, and members of an ancient church order dedicated their lives to stop the eventual spreading of the corruption.

As time passed, more and more people became hollow because of the undead curse and the safeguarding of the Abyss became less efficient. One day, they realized that their attempt to protect the land from the spreading corruption was completely useless: the entirety of the ground under the land was corrupted by the Abyss. Plants and other types of life would die and the soil was full of a strange dark liquid substance. It could explain why inside of the crypt there was so much of that thing. It didn't take long before some people were corrupted too. The economy completely died and a civil war occurred. They killed each other mercilessly, and the streets were filled with blood, houses were burned to the ground and many religious temples were destroyed. Members of the church were also killed by the civilians, claiming that it was the church's fault. The war then ended and the land became silent. Some deacons survived and wrote these scriptures before falling into silence, just like the rest.

I was appalled by this discovery. To see that such a great kingdom lost all its dignity because of a single person. This king was the source of all the land's misery and it was now clear that he became this horrid monster. Seeing this gave me more determination to put down this creature once and for all. I walked out of the chamber and continued to explore. Suddenly, everything started to tremble, and I could hear the same terrifying inhuman growl from before. It was the dark monstrosity, and its cry gave away its position. I ran as fast as I could in the corridor, until I finally reached the great hall with the great gaping hole. I immediately stopped moving as I faced the pit. I took a deep breath and jumped inside it. Was it bravery or stupidity that made me do this? Either way, I was forced to jump down.

As I fell into the pit, everything around me was completely black. Was it truly a place of endless darkness? Then suddenly, I touched the ground. But it was not solid, it was something more gooey. It was the dark substance made of corruption. I panicked, I needed to get out of there. I tried to swim away, but the lack of vision made everything more difficult. Its like I was drowning in the darkness itself. But then something came to my mind : I still had my sword. With all my strength, I pulled it out of the liquid and finally the light pierced the darkness. Meters away from me, I saw a ground made of rock. After finally reaching it, I rolled on my back and started breathing heavily. I needed a small pause. For a moment, I thought that I was going to die again. After a small time of respite, I stood up and looked into the darkness in front of me. Full of doubts and afraid, I walked forward, knowing that there was not turning back.

Minutes passed and I eventually saw something in front of me. I saw what looked like remains of an old temple. Chunks of cobblestones and pillars of rock covered the area and in the middle, there was something that looked like an altar. Curious, but full of caution, I tried to approach it. But suddenly, I heard the same roar again. Above me, a huge creature leaped into the air and as it touched the ground, everything trembled enough to make me fall on the floor. I looked up and my eyes widened, in my life, I had never seen such a grotesque, monstrous creature. It was an abomination, something unholy that could only be imagined by someone mad. At first, there was the great deformed dark hand, its fingers were like those of a human, but the rest of the body was entirely something else. Its skin was black with different shades of purple. The arm that came with the right hand was fairly normal, but the other arm's proportion was completely different. The left part of the body had a strange shape, as if it was blown up from the inside. The left hand didn't even look like a hand. It had five things that barely looked liked fingers, they were like tendrils with spikes around them. In its palm, there was something that looked like a circular mouth with many pointy teeth. Its tentacles gesticulated awkwardly and simply looking at it made me feel sick. Its torso was muscular with dark scales covering the entirety of the body, and on the back there was a multitude of black spikes from the neck to its long tail. Its two legs were like those of a human, but the feet were deformed and the nails were like claws. And finally, I saw its head : it was something coming out of a nightmare. Its mouth had long black teeth and the lower jaw had a pointy deformed chin. The face didn't have any nose, or I simply couldn't see it. It had four glowing red eyes, and two protuberant horns on its forehead. On the rest of its skull, there were many small distorted horns in a circle. It was like a great dark crown. How fitting for a king, I thought to myself.

With a bestial vigor, the creature roared again at me and its long tail waved around. If fight was what he wanted, then he would get it. I raised my divine shield and sword at the creature, then the beast striked me with its right hand. Luckily, I blocked the hit with my shield. I was deeply surprised, such a hit could destroy the walls of a castle. Truly, this shield was blessed. I took my chance and slashed my sword at the hand, the creature took many steps back, it was clearly hurt. It then retaliated with its tail, throwing me into the air. After falling on the ground, I stood up and decided to run and hide behind some rubble, in order to heal.

After taking a sip from my estus flask, I heard the beast coming. As it went toward me, I dodged immediately to its left. Then, with all my strength, I was able to slice its tail. I fell on the ground and its dark blood slowly spilled from it. The creature roared in anger as it swiftly tried to grab me with its right hand. Because of my lack of stamina, I was not able to get away. The beast then threw me on the ground, breaking the bones of my left arm. I rolled on the ground, writhing in pain. I didn't have my shield anymore and my sword was almost next to me. As I tried to grab it, I was stopped as the creature used its hand to immobilize me. Unable to move, it approached its other distorted hand next to me. The mouth inside slowly opened and a small white aura emerged from it. The light touched me and suddenly, I started to feel exhausted. I was feeling like a part of me was leaving my body. It was stealing my life essence. I desperately tried to reach my sword, but the effect of the spell was taking its toll. I focused all my thoughts on the sword, trying to reach it. Then, after taking a deep breath, I finally was able to reach it, and with my remaining strength, I impaled the left hand of the creature with the great sword. The monster let out a loud shriek and it immediately released me. It took many steps back and threw away the sword. The holy powers burned its skin and the beast continued to roar, clearly in atrocious pain. I took the sword and finally, I seized my chance and I ran at it. I yelled as I jumped on its arm and completely sliced the head of the beast. The head rolled on the floor and the body of the now deceased monstrosity touched the ground, making everything around it tremble. It was now forever silent.

I took many deep breaths as I took some sips from my estus flask, drinking it completely. Even though I was now healed, I felt exhausted. The source of the corruption was now destroyed, I thought. I contemplated my victory for a moment before finally approaching the altar that was in the middle of the ruins. On it, there was a nothing but a book. A book that was withered and filthy. As I approached it with my hand, I heard a strange sound around me. Out of a great pit behind the altar, a long creature emerged. It two yellow and red eyes, enormous teeth and what looked like a nose and a protuberance made of flesh that strangely looked like a mustache. It opened its mouth and I could smell an extremely horrible, rotten scent. It then started to speak as it looked directly at me, looking down.

"Oh, well this is interesting, you actually managed to defeat him, another failure I suppose. And you are an undead too? It truly is interesting."

I raised an eyebrow at the thing, and bluntly asked :

"What.. what are you supposed to be?"

The creature simply smiled, making strange sounds with his mouth.

"My name is not important. I am merely a Primordial Serpent. For eons, I watched over this kingdom, waiting for an eventual ruler that would become a lord of the Abyss. Only two were worthy of my gift, but alas, they all failed in the end. The first one used the powers I gave to destroy the surface, while the other did its work well. But, you have now proven that he was weak."

I could not believe it, a Primordial Serpent? These beings were legends. It was said that they can live for thousands of years, but I only thought that they were nothing but a myth. When it spoke of the first one, was it the Evil Eye itself? I had my doubts.

"Tell me, serpent. Why have you done all of this?"

The creature cackled and approached me, the horrible scent now stronger.

"In order to husher in an age where the Abyss itself reigns over everything. The age we currently are in, the Age of Fire, must come to an end."

I could not believe what I was hearing, this creature was mad. With this age's end, the world would fade into complete darkness. Such a thing should never happen.

"What is this power you speak of, what turned them into these hideous beasts?"

He then gestured its head toward the book.

"This contains the power to steal the humanity of other people. A way to drain the life essence of someone else. While this art already exists, my version is far more powerful, but it can corrupt its user far more easily. By stealing the humanity of others, it reveals the true nature of humans, deep down in their heart and soul. After all, the humans are born from the Dark."

I pointed my hand at the corpse of the beast, terrified.

"You are telling me that this is what humans really look like?! This is madness."

The serpent then approached me again, its eyes looking intently at me.

"You are far more powerful than my last one, why don't you try this.. power? Imagine what you could do with it.."

I gazed at the book, after looking at it for a moment, I glanced at the serpent and shook my head. I opened my satchel and took a small bottle of oil and I poured it on the book itself, then with the other materials I had, I lighted up the book. The serpent looked angrily at me, clearly disappointed.

"I came here only to stop the Abyss, not to help it spread again. My work is done, serpent."

The serpent grumbled, but was still relatively calm.

*Very well, you have succeeded in your mission. The Abyss's spreading is now stopped, but beware. One day, another person will find its way here and will accept my gift."

The serpent then returned in its hole, disappearing in the darkness. I took my shield on the ground, then I opened my bag. I needed a way to get out of there. Fortunately, I had the perfect thing : a homeward bone, a small token that returns its users to the last bonfire used. I closed my eyes as I firmly had the bone in my hand. Then after closing my eyes and opening them again, I had returned at last to my bonfire. I let out a sigh and sat on the floor, completely exhausted. I looked intently at the bonfire before falling asleep.

The next morning, I decided to leave the city once and for all. I reached the peak from where I cam from very early and the sun was not even up yet. I had my fair share of dark corruption. From this journey at least, I became a better fighter and I even had new weapons. I glanced one last time at the fallen land of Astora. The first rays of sunlight pierced the sky and projected its radiance upon the ruined kingdom. In a way, it looked beautiful from this point of view. Then I entered the tunnel inside the mountain.

After this horrible experience in Astora, after seeing all these monstrosities and all its evil, I had finally concluded that in the end, some things are better left alone.

 **So this is the end! I would like to thank those who took the time to read my story. A review would also be very appreciated so I can become better at writing.**

 **Thank you all very much!**


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